Video: Student Says He Was Slammed By SRO For Taking A Snickers

COVINGTON, GA - Three Convington, Ga., students are facing charges and one says he was slammed to the ground for raiding a school candy machine and taking an 85 cent Snickers bar Thursday.

School Resource Officers responded to a disturbance in the Commons Area at Alcovy High School, according to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office. Initially they thought it was a fight but quickly determined it was theft of snacks from the vending machine. Three juvenile students were charged as a result. Below are the ages and charges of those involved:

14 year old - theft by taking and disorderly conduct
14 year old - theft by taking
15 year old - disruption of a public school, obstruction, theft by taking,
disorderly conduct

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

An attorney representing one of the students said that a deputy body slammed a 14-year-old because he took a Snickers candy bar from the machine.

A video, taken by a student and circulating on social media, appears to show officers throwing Student Asah Glenn to the ground.

Glenn, 14, said that a student opened a vending machine and a group of people ran over to take candy. Glenn said he also ran over and that's when he was body slammed by the school resource officer.

"It was a blur. I was scared for my life and I didn't know what was going on," Glenn told a local news station. "I ran over there grabbed a Snickers, turned around coach grabbed me and it went from there."

Glenn family attorney Mawuli Davis told Patch that a coach and two deputies used excessive force on his client for taking the candy bar.

"Several days later, you can still see marks on his neck where he was grabbed by a deputy," said Davis. "One had him by the throat while another body slammed him. They're choking him and they ran him into the wall, lift him up and you can see them try to body slam him to the ground. His hands are up the whole time.

"He's 125 to 130 pounds max and these are grown men," said Davis. "It was traumatizing for him."

Glenn was suspended for three days and faces criminal charges.

"He did everything you would advise a young person to do when they encounter a law enforcement officer," Davis said. "He showed no physical aggression, no verbal aggression and showed them his hands to confirm he had no weapons. His reward was excessive physical force that injured and traumatized him."

In a statement to Patch, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office said it "is aware of the video circulating throughout the media and it has been turned over to the Office of Professional Standards which investigates all use of force incidents. The deputy depicted in the video has been reassigned pending the outcome of the investigation.

"Sheriff [Ezell] Brown is committed to making sure that no stone is left unturned in all incidents regardless if it is at a school or complaints from the general public," said the statement.

The school verified to Patch that "on Thursday, Dec. 13, school resource officers apprehended students involved in a vending machine theft," said Sherri Davis, director of public relation. "In addition to possible legal charges, students involved in the theft will be disciplined for violating the student code of conduct. We are aware of the student’s allegation and have forwarded the information to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office for review."

Photo and video courtesy Davis Bozeman Law Firm P.C.